Family

The institution of family is something that can never be emphasized enough. Family is the people that make you who you are. They are your blood. Your family is the people that you care most about, but at the same time because you are so comfortable being around them, they are the people whom you sometimes take your anger out on. On the other hand, sometimes members of your family aren’t ever around, and they are almost complete strangers. The short stories we’ve read, even though they are fiction, cover many aspects of family that are very prevalent in today’s’ society.

The poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke describes a father and son relationship in a very interesting manner. Roethke describes a drunken father carrying his son to bed as a waltz. They “romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf”. But, even though the father stumbled all over the place the son, “hung on like death” because he loves his father. Because even though Roethke tries to turn the reader against the father, there are still definite signs of the classic bond between father and son. Here is this father who works with his hands, and works very hard. He decides to stop by the bar for a couple of drinks before coming home late that night to find his son waiting for him. So they “waltz” around a little bit until the father takes him off to bed. And still, the son doesn’t want to leave his father. Roethke’s interpretation of the father and son is almost like they are just fooling around. The son looks up to his father just like most children do, and is excited to see his father. The tie that bonds the father and his son is the love they have for each other.

Another story about a father and son relationship is the short story, “Reunion” by John Cheever. Except this story doesn’t describe the classic father and son bond. Instead, it describes a father and son relationship that is more grim. Cheever introduces Charlie, the main character, who is a young teenager trying to set up a lunch with his father whom he hasn’t seen since his, “mother divorced him three years ago”. To Charlie his dad “was a stranger”. He begins the day excited and nervous because he doesn’t know what to expect, but at the end of the time with his father Charlie is fed up and embarrassed. Charlie describes, “As soon as I saw him I felt that he was my father, my flesh and blood, my future and my doom”. Which foreshadows what happens next in the story. Charlie and his father go from restaurant to restaurant getting kicked out because his father keeps causing a scene. Cheever describes this whole time with Charlie and his father in a way that even makes the reader feel uncomfortable. The aspect of family struggles in this story because it would be hard for Charlie to love someone he feels is a stranger. What is also interesting is the way Charlie’s father greets Charlie when they first meet. There was no hug or kiss; it was a handshake and a strike on the back. The father shows no emotions towards Charlie. He shows no interest in finding anything out about Charlie, and there is little to no dialogue between father and son. By the end of their time together Cheever explains that that was the last time Charlie saw his father again. This story shows the negative side family can have in some situations.

The negative and positive relationships with family are touched base upon in the short story, “The Fat Girl” by Andre Dubus. The protagonist, Louise, has very different relationships with both of her parents. With her father, Louise finds out that he truly loves her for who she is, but with her mother, the love they have is almost conditional. Growing up, Louise’s mother tried forcing Louise on a diet. She constantly monitored what Louise ate because she wanted a pretty daughter. She wanted Louise to be happy, and felt that her losing weight would be the only way for Louise to be joyous in life. Louise’s parents would constantly argue about whether or not Louise should eat something, and her father seemed to always take Louise’s side. But, it was her mother who won every fight. Louise would sneak food and eat in the bathroom to periodically forget about her depression. But, her happiness was short lived. She was constantly reminded of being overweight. Her two friends were skinny, and the rest of her family was skinny. The only person for Louise to go to for true love was her father. It wasn’t until college that Louise really started to diet and actually lose weight. Her mother was thrilled with the way Louise looked throughout college and after. She seemed to treat Louise better than before. It was her father that always loved her the same, fat Louise, or skinny Louise. But, latter in the story Louise began gaining weight while she was pregnant. It was then when Louise realized that she was okay with being obese. She liked herself for who she was. Her husband, Richard, also loved Louise in a fortuitous manner. He didn’t appreciate Louise, but instead enjoyed her looks. While pregnant, Louise had a hard time dieting, which made Richard very impatient with her. She recognized the fact that her and Richard didn’t truly love each other, and began eating as a rebellious act towards her husband.

Another act of rebellion towards family members can be seen in the short story, “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, and in the movie based on the story. This story is about a young teenager named Connie who decides not to go with her family to her aunt’s house, and instead gets talked into taking a ride with a complete stranger. The stranger, Arnold Friend, convinces Connie to take a ride with him, making her believe that if she doesn’t go with him her family would be in danger. Connie takes it upon herself to keep her family safe from this creep and gives him what he wants. Prior to taking a ride with this man Connie’s relationship with her family is typical for a young popular adolescent girl, but that’s not to say it was a good one. She is always looking for a way to get out of the house, away from her parents and her sister. Her sister, June, is older and was a very well behaved girl when she was Connie’s age, and Connie is stuck in the shadow of her sister. She tries so hard to be different from her sister, and rebels